Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Malaysian Airlines (MAS) ground crew will stop work if MAS does not retract all termination letters within 48 hours, the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) said.Apart from describing it as a "tools down protest", Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin was unwilling to provide further details.

"Wait and see. Give us 48 hours first," he said during a press conference today.

If MAS do not heed the "tools down" protest, Nufam will lead a bigger protest at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or outside the Khazanah Nasional headquarters.

Khazanah Nasional, the nation's sovereign wealth fund, is the owner of the ailing national carrier.

Additionally, Nufam also set two more conditions for MAS to avoid facing work disruptions.

Firstly, MAS must also re-negotiate the terms of contract with relevant unions, including Nufam, to ensure that employees will not be exploited.

Secondly, all axed MAS employees must be re-hired and offered a voluntary separation scheme instead of termination.

"We will continuously protest against MAS until we get results we want. What we want is engagement," said Ismail.

One-third shown door

MAS is undergoing a restructuring exercise which would result in about a third of its staff being axed in order to cut cost.

Two terminated MAS employees who refused to be named were also present at the press conference to relay their experiences.One of them said she had just lost her husband to illness seven months ago and now has to support her eight-year-old daughter by herself. A day after she returned from a flight on 3 June, she received a phone call telling her that she had been terminated with immediate effect.When she asked why she had been terminated, she was not given an answer.She had been working with MAS for 18 years, but took one and a half year of unpaid leave recently to care for her sick husband. "I just want my job back for my daughter's future and my future," she cried. 'Henti buang pekerja atau kami henti buat kerja'